These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest guidance before travelling. Our writer visited these hotels prior to the pandemic.
In the Cotswolds, one-of-a-kind charm combines with pleasing sophistication at a number of finely devised boutique establishments. Some of these small, sleek places to stay have fabulous views over rolling countryside, some are set in idyllic villages, others are located in the region’s most elegant towns. All share high standards of service and offer a sense of pizzazz, whether in exceptional food, in striking décor or in a blend of history and modern design. Here’s our pick of the best boutique hotels in the Cotswolds, including the best for hidden spas, buzzy bars and cosy but cool bedrooms, in locations including Stow-on-the-Wold, Barnsley and Cheltenham.
Foxhill Manor
Broadway, Cotswolds, England
A splendid 1909 Arts & Crafts mansion enjoying glorious seclusion in 400-acre Farncombe Estate above the village of Broadway in the northern Cotswolds. It has more of an atmosphere of a club or hip home than a hotel, with retro-chic furniture, original stucco work on ceilings, and shelves around the house lined with books chosen by the Sorensen family, who own the estate. Across the estate lies sister hotel Dormy House and its state-of-the-art spa that Foxhill guests are welcome to use (staff will drive you over). Outdoor options are abundant, from walks to activities arranged by the estate.
From
£
489
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith
No. 38 The Park
Cheltenham, Cotswolds, England
This Georgian mansion houses a fabulously stylish art-filled b&b that looks out to a stretch of Cheltenham’s Pittville Park (the stylish Montpellier district is about a 10-minute taxi ride south). You ring the bell and are ushered into a tall hall with a black-and-white floor and stucco ceiling decorations. Spread over three floors, the 13 rooms are individually designed: some with bold feature wallpaper, some with claw-foot tubs in the room, all with fine Egyptian cotton and bright throws on the beds. Bathrooms are stocked with all-natural Bramley soaps and shampoo made in the Cotswolds.
From
£
100
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Wheatsheaf Inn
Northleach, Cotswolds, England
This rambling, creeper-clad coaching inn turned arty, boutique haven is furnished with immensely pleasing flair – a blend of tradition and contemporary chic. There are open fires, rugs on flagstone and wood floors and retro school seats as dining chairs. Walls, mainly clad in Cotswold greys and greens, are lined with an eclectic mix of hunting scenes, family portraits of local landowners and striking modern art including an audacious pop art rendition of Kate Moss by Sebastian Krüger. The restaurant draws a regular local crowd and the emphasis is on the very best quality, from the menu ingredients to the room amenities.
From
£
100
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Close
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England
What a pleasing place, set in the very heart of Tetbury. The Close is a comfy-chic haven filled with arty flourishes. The walls are hung with modern paintings; the 20 bedrooms are spacious and beautifully devised. Dove has a four-poster; Nightingale’s bathroom features a slipper bath and also an armchair. There’s a clever arrangement of fabrics in each room, with chairs specially covered to complement curtains or bed-heads. The Close has become a hub for locals, who drop in for coffee and lunch; you’re very much in with Tetbury’s café society here.
From
£
99
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Bay Tree Hotel
Burford, Cotswolds, England
Just a five-minute walk from the high street, this wisteria-clad property is well-situated in Burford. Its main building stands on the site of a house that belonged to Lawrence Tanfield, James I’s Baron of the Exchequer, and what you see today is a 17th-century property with gables and mullion windows. Inside there’s a web of corridors and cosy rooms, with a bright restaurant extension giving on to a walled garden. Clad in warm colours and with striking art on the walls, it offers open fireplaces, cosy nooks and 21 stylish bedrooms (one of which has a carved fireplace, spa bath and separate lounge).
From
£
125
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Painswick
Gloucestershire, Cotswolds, England
From the mullion windows of this Grade-II listed mansion, in one of the prettiest towns in the Cotswolds, you take in breathtaking panoramas of the lovely Painswick Valley. ‘Earth without Art is just Eh’ proclaims a witty artwork in the upstairs sitting room, which neatly sums up the mood here. Decked in a medley of greys, blues and greens and with striking prints and graphic artworks on the walls, The Painswick exudes chic comfort and is pitched as the younger, quirkier and more affordable sibling of luxury Cotswold hotels Calcot Manor and Barnsley House.
From
£
209
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Feathered Nest Country Inn
Oxfordshire, Cotswolds, England
From the restaurant and generous terrace of this handsome, edge-of-village property you gaze (and gaze) across a sweeping tapestry of fields in the sublime Evenlode valley. Guests staying in one of its four very comfortable bedrooms have exclusive use of its extensive grounds, which contain a newly devised and thriving wildlife reserve. All are furnished as country inn accommodation, with hessian floors, the odd antique and soft furnishings themed on birds. The smallest, Cockerel’s Roost, is a cosy space with a double bed and a walk-in shower. The others have king-sized beds and a bath (plus shower). Expect fabulous food, exceptional service and a superb setting.
From
£
140
per night
East House
Broadway, Worcestershire, England
This handsome 18th-century property with mullion windows and old stone fireplaces has been beautifully devised as a boutique b&b.
Walk through the door and you’re in a gracious hallway-cum-sitting room furnished in a sort of modern Jacobean style with cushioned window seats, rich swathes of curtains and comfy chairs around a fireplace. To the right is a more formal drawing room with exposed beams and a baby grand piano. The four bedrooms offer a range of looks and furnishings. The most romantic is Spencer, with mood lighting, a Champagne fridge, and large bathroom with an oval stone bath and a walk-in shower.
Walk through the door and you’re in a gracious hallway-cum-sitting room furnished in a sort of modern Jacobean style with cushioned window seats, rich swathes of curtains and comfy chairs around a fireplace. To the right is a more formal drawing room with exposed beams and a baby grand piano. The four bedrooms offer a range of looks and furnishings. The most romantic is Spencer, with mood lighting, a Champagne fridge, and large bathroom with an oval stone bath and a walk-in shower.
From
£
195
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Barnsley House
Cirencester, Cotswolds, England
What a beauty. With its golden stone, gables and mullion windows this is a dreamily romantic house. But for all that, the building is magnificently upstaged by its garden. There are four acres of formal gardens including a laburnum avenue and a potager. Beyond is a terrific vegetable garden along with outlying meadows that back on to a dairy farm. The six bedrooms in the main house range from large attic suites with fabulous views over the garden to the hotel’s smallest, but still generously sized, double room looking on to the front drive. Hidden in a garden dell is the uber-stylish spa, complete with outdoor hydrotherapy pool and Elemis treatments.
From
£
369
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
The Wild Rabbit
Kingham, Cotswolds, England
The Wild Rabbit is a haven of eco-elegance a few fields away from sister enterprise Daylesford, the organic farm shop, deli, spa (and more) of Carole Bamford. She transformed this 18th-century inn and it has been meticulously devised in quiet colours, stone and wood. Named after woodland creatures, all 15 bedrooms are decorated in a designer symphony of cream and taupe. They are luxury sanctums of rustic-chic, with beds clad in the softest Egyptian linen, twig coathooks behind doors and in several rooms four-posters fashioned from birch trunks.
From
£
140
per night
Dormy House
Broadway, Cotswolds, England
Dormy House is complete treat of a hotel with stylish décor, terrific food and impeccable service. The core is a 17th-century farmhouse, complete with big stone fireplaces and flagstone floors. Reception, with its hotel bustle, is behind in a light-filled atrium. In keeping with the Nordic origins of the Sorensen family owners, furnishings are Scandi-chic, with an emphasis on clean lines and quiet colours. When Broadway’s golf course was created in the 1940s it became the club accommodation, or ‘dormy house’, hence the name today. Its state-of-the-art spa has won armloads of awards.
From
£
284
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith